Two years ago today we launched the Saffron Gael website to cover Gaelic Games in Antrim. With the closure of a number of local papers in north Antrim the coverage of our games, particularly at club level, had dwindled, so the online platform was ideal.
The site has been well received and since we covered our first match on May 29, 2017 (the Under 21 Hurling final between Dunloy and Loughgiel) we have had over two and a half million hits on the site. From the start we have always wanted to keep it an open platform and have ignored the advice to put it behind a pay-wall as we want the young people in our county to have the opportunity to follow our games. A few companies have supported us financially and a good few of the clubs have backed us really well during that time, and to them we would like offer our sincere thanks. However for the most part we have just been keeping our heads above water.
Most contributors to site i.e. reporters and photographers do it on a voluntary basis but with nominal payments and travelling expenses etc it still takes between £450 and £500 per week to keep in operational.
Could your business, or you as an individual, support our venture?
Creagh Concrete, Premier Electrics, Vincent Rainey Finance, and most recently, Northern Property, have agreed to contribute £1000 per annum, which get their company logo and link to the their website used on all the Antrim county games.
Walsh Scaffolding, People 1st, The Hunting Lodge and Favour Pet Foods, P Graham Tarmac, D Heggarty Surveying and Thorton Roofing have pledged £500 which gets their logo used on the games associated with their clubs. Some others like John DeNovi, Doherty Woodshavings, T Scullion Contracts Ltd, MM Electrical, and Haughey Bros Electrical, JM Coaches have chipped in with £250 per year.
We would appeal to companies, especially those with connections to the GAA in Antrim to come on board, but we would particularly like to appeal to the individuals who follow the site on a regular basis. There are a number of people who contribute through the PayPal button on the site and to them we are eternally grateful, but we need more people to get on board
Will you sign up for a direct debit for £5 a month. That is just £1.25 a week to have full access to a site that covers our games on a daily basis. Last week we had 45,640 hits on the site with 18,700 different visitors. We are appealing to those who use the site to pay just a little. £1.25 week in a very nominal sum, but if enough get on board it would make a big difference to us.
Are you interested in supporting our venture?
If so we have included our bank details so you can sign up for a direct debit payment to Saffron Gael.
Saffron Gael
Account number – 60144215. Sort code – 950679
If you need any further information please contact John McIlwaine (john.mcilwaine@yahoo.co.uk) M- 07885226348 or Paddy McIlwaine (ptrckmclwn@yahoo.co.uk) M – 07511111378